Paper money discrimination device

ABSTRACT

The invention provides a paper money discriminating device which is simplified in structure and can be manufactured less expensively and therefore can contribute to cost reduction and productivity improvement. Thus, a first detecting member and a second detecting member are released from contact with each other, the second detecting member performs a prescribed action and the action of the second detecting member is detected by a detector when a paper money accommodating unit is taken off a discriminating device body, when an openable member is opened, or when paper money accommodated in the paper money accommodating unit has reached or surpassed a prescribed quantity, a state in which the paper money accommodating unit is taken off, a state in which the openable member is opened and a state in which paper money accommodated in the paper money accommodating unit has reached or surpassed the prescribed quantity can be detected by a single detector.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a paper money discriminating device foruse in vending machines and the like which accept paper money.

2. Description of the Related Art

Known conventional paper money discriminating devices of this kindinclude one comprising a discriminating unit for discriminating papermoney put into a paper money inlet, a carrying mechanism for carryingdiscriminated paper money to a prescribed position in a discriminatingdevice body, a pushing mechanism for pushing the paper money carried tothe prescribed position in a prescribed direction, and a paper moneyaccommodating unit for accepting the paper money pushed by the pushingmechanism, equipped with an openable cover for opening and closing apaper money outlet, is detachably installed on the discriminating devicebody (see for instance the specification of the U.S. Pat. No.5,756,985).

This kind of paper money discriminating device is provided with a firstdetector for detecting the state in which the paper money accommodatingunit is not fitted to the discriminating device body, a second detectorfor detecting the open state of the openable cover, and a third detectorfor detecting the state in which the paper money accommodating unit hasreached a prescribed loaded level (see for instance the specification ofthe U.S. Pat. No. 5,988,345), and when any of these detectors detectsany of the states referred to above, a prescribed detection signal isissued.

The pushing mechanism consists of a pushing plate for pushing papermoney and a drive mechanism for moving the pushing plate in thedirection of pushing paper money, and the pushing plate is moved whilebeing kept parallel to the direction of pushing paper money by engaginga sliding member, which is engaged with rails laid in the discriminatingdevice body, with a slit bored in the pushing plate. A known example ofthe pushingmechanism is a pantagraph type one, which moves the pushingplate with a pair of mutually crossing links (see for instance thespecification of the U.S. Pat. No. 5,632,367).

However, as this paper money discriminating device requires threedetectors for detecting the unfitted state of the paper moneyaccommodating unit and other states, it is complex in structure,requires many constituent parts, and accordingly invites an increase incost and a decrease in productivity. Those using a sliding member or apantograph mechanism for its pushing mechanism also involve the problemsof complex structure and a large number of constituent parts asdescribed above.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An object of the present invention, attempted in view of the problemsnoted above, is to provide a paper money discriminating device which issimple in structure, can be manufactured inexpensively and therefore cancontribute to cost reduction and productivity improvement.

In order to achieve the object stated above, a paper moneydiscriminating device according to the invention comprises adiscriminating unit for discriminating paper money put in through apaper money inlet, a carrying mechanism for carrying discriminated papermoney to a prescribed position within a discriminating device body, anda paper money accommodating unit for accommodating the paper moneycarried to the prescribed position, wherein the paper moneyaccommodating unit is disposed detachably from the discriminating devicebody and the paper money accommodating unit is provided with an openablemember for opening and closing a paper money outlet, further providedwith:

a first detecting member disposed toward the paper money accommodatingunit to be opposite a prescribed position on the discriminating devicebody side and arranged integrated with the openable member, a seconddetecting member provided in a prescribed position on the discriminatingdevice body side, which comes into contact with the first detectingmember when the paper money accommodating unit is fitted to thediscriminating device body and the openable member is in a closed state,is released from the contact with the first detecting member andperforms a prescribed action when the paper money accommodating unit istaken off the discriminating device body or when the openable member isopened, and a detector for detecting the action of the second detectingmember.

Since in this configuration the first detecting member and the seconddetecting member are released from contact with each other, the seconddetecting member performs a prescribed action and the action of thesecond detecting member is detected by the detector when the paper moneyaccommodating unit is taken off the discriminating device body or whenthe openable member is opened, a state in which the paper moneyaccommodating unit is taken off and a state in which the openable memberis opened can be detected by a single detector. Therefore, compared witha configuration in which these states are separately detected by aplurality of detectors, the number of constituent elements can besubstantially reduced with the result that the device can be simplifiedin structure and manufactured less expensively and therefore cancontribute to cost reduction and productivity improvement.

A paper money discriminating device according to the inventioncomprising a discriminating unit for discriminating paper money put inthrough a paper money inlet, a carrying mechanism for carryingdiscriminated paper money to a prescribed position within adiscriminating device body, and a paper money accommodating unit foraccommodating the paper money carried to the prescribed position,wherein the paper money accommodating unit is disposed detachably fromthe discriminating device body and the paper money accommodating unit isprovided with an openable member for opening and closing a paper moneyoutlet, may be further provided with a first detecting member disposedtoward the paper money accommodating unit to be opposite a prescribedposition on the discriminating device body side and shifting in aprescribed direction according to the quantity of paper moneyaccommodated in the paper money accommodating unit, a second detectingmember provided in a prescribed position on the discriminating devicebody side, which comes into contact with the first detecting member whenthe paper money accommodating unit is fitted to the discriminatingdevice body and paper money accommodated in the paper moneyaccommodating unit is less than a prescribed quantity, is released fromthe contact with the first detecting member and performs a prescribedaction when the paper money accommodating unit is taken off thediscriminating device body or when paper money accommodated in the papermoney accommodating unit has reached or surpassed the prescribedquantity, and a detector for detecting the action of the seconddetecting member.

Since in this configuration the first detecting member and the seconddetecting member are released from contact with each other, the seconddetecting member performs a prescribed action and the action of thesecond detecting member is detected by the detector when the paper moneyaccommodating unit is taken off the discriminating device body or whenpaper money accommodated in the paper money accommodating unit hasreached or surpassed the prescribed quantity, a state in which the papermoney accommodating unit is taken off and a state in which paper moneyaccommodated in the paper money accommodating unit has reached orsurpassed the prescribed quantity can be detected by a single detector.Therefore, compared with a configuration in which these states areseparately detected by a plurality of detectors, the number ofconstituent elements can be substantially reduced with the result thatthe device can be simplified in structure and manufactured lessexpensively and therefore can contribute to cost reduction andproductivity improvement.

A paper money discriminating device according to the inventioncomprising a discriminating unit for discriminating paper money put inthrough a paper money inlet, a carrying mechanism for carryingdiscriminated paper money to a prescribed position within adiscriminating device body, and a paper money accommodating unit foraccommodating the paper money carried to the prescribed position,wherein the paper money accommodating unit is disposed detachably fromthe discriminating device body and the paper money accommodating unit isprovided with an openable member for opening and closing a paper moneyoutlet, may be further provided with a first detecting member disposedtoward the paper money accommodating unit to be opposite a prescribedposition on the discriminating device body side, arranged integratedwith the openable member, and shifting in a prescribed directionaccording to the quantity of paper money accommodated in the paper moneyaccommodating unit, a second detecting member provided in a prescribedposition on the discriminating device body side, which comes intocontact with the first detecting member when the paper moneyaccommodating unit is fitted to the discriminating device body, theopenable member is closed and paper money accommodated in the papermoney accommodating unit is less than a prescribed quantity, is releasedfrom the contact with the first detecting member and performs aprescribed action when the paper money accommodating unit is taken offthe discriminating device body, when the openable member is opened orwhen paper money accommodated in the paper money accommodating unit hasreached or surpassed the prescribed quantity, and a detector fordetecting the action of the second detecting member.

Since in this configuration the first detecting member and the seconddetecting member are released from contact with each other, the seconddetecting member performs a prescribed action and the action of thesecond detecting member is detected by the detector when the paper moneyaccommodating unit is taken off the discriminating device body, when theopenable member is opened or when paper money accommodated in the papermoney accommodating unit has reached or surpassed the prescribedquantity, a state in which the paper money accommodating unit is takenoff, and a state in which the openable member is opened and a state inwhich paper money accommodated in the paper money accommodating unit hasreached or surpassed the prescribed quantity can be detected by a singledetector. Therefore, compared with a configuration in which these statesare separately detected by a plurality of detectors, the number ofconstituent elements can be substantially reduced with the result thatthe device can be simplified in structure and manufactured lessexpensively and therefore can contribute to cost reduction andproductivity improvement.

A paper money discriminating device according to the invention maycomprise a discriminating unit for discriminating paper money put inthrough a paper money inlet, a carrying mechanism for carryingdiscriminated paper money to a prescribed position within adiscriminating device body, a pushing mechanism for pushing paper moneycarried to the prescribed position in a prescribed direction, and apaper money accommodating unit for accepting the paper money pushed bythe pushing mechanism, wherein the pushing mechanism comprises a pushingplate for pushing paper money, a drive mechanism for shifting thepushing plate in the direction of pushing paper money, one engagingportion disposed on the pushing plate, and another engaging portiondisposed on the discriminating device body side, the engaging portionsbeing engaged with each other to be shiftable in the direction ofpushing paper money.

Since in this configuration a sliding mechanism for the pushing plate iscomposed of only the engaging portion of the pushing plate and theengaging portion on the discriminating device body side, the slidingmechanism requires no other component with the result that the devicecan be simplified in structure and manufactured less expensively andtherefore can contribute to cost reduction and productivity improvement.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of a paper money discriminating device,which is a preferred embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 shows a sideway unit of the paper money discriminating device;

FIG. 3 shows an exploded perspective view from the front of a body caseand inlet cover;

FIG. 4 shows an exploded perspective view from the back of the body caseand the inlet cover;

FIG. 5 shows an exploded perspective view from the front of the bodycase, a carrying unit and a pushing unit;

FIG. 6 shows an exploded perspective view from the back of the bodycase, the carrying unit and the pushing unit;

FIG. 7 shows an exploded perspective view of the pushing unit;

FIG. 8 shows an exploded perspective view of the pushing unit;

FIG. 9 shows an exploded perspective view of a paper money accommodatingunit;

FIG. 10 shows a perspective view from the bottom of an openable cover;

FIG. 11 shows a sideway unit of the essential parts of the paper moneyaccommodating unit and the body unit;

FIG. 12A, FIG. 12B and FIG. 12C illustrate how first and seconddetecting members operate;

FIG. 13A and FIG. 13B show partial unital views from the front of theupper part of the openable cover and the paper money accommodating unit;and

FIG. 14A, FIG. 14B and FIG. 14C illustrate how the pushing plateoperates.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

FIG. 1 through FIG. 14 illustrate a preferred embodiment of the presentinvention.

This paper money discriminating device is configured of a body case 10constituting the body of the discriminating device, an inlet cover 20through which paper money is to be put in, first and second carryingunits 30 and 40 constituting mechanisms for carrying the input papermoney, a discriminating unit 50 for discriminating the input papermoney, a pushing unit 60 constituting a pushing mechanism for pushingbackward the paper money carried by the first and second carrying units30 and 40 to a prescribed position, a paper money accommodating unit 70for accommodating the paper money pushed by the pushing unit 60, a firstdetecting member 80 arranged on the paper money accommodating unit 70side, and a second detecting member 90 arranged on the body case 10side.

The body case 10 is formed in a box shape open on the back side, and inthe lower part of its front face is provided an opening 10 a covered bythe inlet cover 20. In the upper part of the front face of the body case10 is provided an openable cover 11 for use in maintenance work.

The inlet cover 20 has a paper money inlet 20 a toward the lower end ofits front face and engaging portions 21 and 22 in the upper and lowerparts, respectively, of its back side, which can be engaged with thebody case 10 to detachably fit the cover to the lower part of the frontface of the body case 10.

The first carrying unit 30 consists of a unit body 31 arranged above thesecond carrying unit 40, a plurality of guide rollers 32 turnably fittedto the unit body 31, and endless belts 33 threaded round the guiderollers 32. The guide rollers 32 and the belts 33 are provided on bothends of the unit body 31. The guide rollers 32 are arranged toward theback and bottom sides of the unit body 31, and are caused by the belts33 to turn interlocked with one another. The guide rollers 32 arrangedin the upper part of the back side of the unit body 31 are linked to oneanother by a shaft 34, and one of them is fitted with a gear 35. Thusthe guide rollers 32 are turned by the rotational force inputted by wayof the gear 35. In this arrangement, the first carrying unit 30 isdriven by a motor 36 arranged on the pushing unit 60 side, and therotational force of the motor 36 is transmitted to the gear 35 of thefirst carrying unit 30 via a gear 37 arranged on the pushing unit 60side.

The second carrying unit 40 consists of a unit body 41 arrangedunderneath the first carrying unit 30 and a plurality of guide rollers42 turnably fitted to the unit body 41, and the guide rollers 42 areprovided on both ends of the unit body 41. The unit body 41 is formed tohave a substantially L-shaped profile, and its arrangement opposite theback and bottom sides of the unit body 31 of the first carrying unit 30results in the formation of a paper money carrying path extending in theback-and-forth and up-and-down directions between the unit body 41 andthe unit body 31.

The discriminating unit 50 consists of a plurality of light emittingelements 51 disposed on the second carrying unit 40 side and a pluralityof light receiving elements 52 disposed on the first carrying unit 30side, and the light emitting elements 51 and the light receivingelements 52 are arranged to be opposite each other pair by pair with thepaper money carrying path between them.

The pushing unit 60 is configured of a unit body 61 arranged within thebody case 10, a pushing plate 62 for pushing paper money, a linkingmember 63 of which one end is turnably linked to the pushing plate 62, arotating plate 64 to which the other end of the linking member 63 isturnably linked, a motor 65 for rotating the rotating plate 64, aplurality of gears 66 for transmitting the turning force of the motor 65to the rotating plate 64, and a detector 67 for detecting the positionof the pushing plate 62.

The unit body 61 accommodates within it the linking member 63, the motor65 and the gears 66, and in its lower part the motor 36 for driving thefirst carrying unit 30 and the gear 37. In the upper and lower parts ofthe unit body 61 are disposed, in two positions in the widthwisedirection, engaging cylinders 61 a for engaging the pushing plate 62 tobe slidable in the back-and-forth direction. The engaging cylinders 61 aare formed integrally with the unit body case 61 to be extensible in theback-and-forth direction. On the back side of the unit body 61 aredisposed in two positions, upper and lower, at the both ends in thewidthwise direction, a plurality of engaging pieces 61 b for engagingthe paper money accommodating unit 70 with the body case 10. Each of theengaging pieces 61 b protrude backward, and its tip is bent upward.Within the unit body 61 are fitted a cover 61 c for shielding the drivemechanism (the motor 65, the gears 66 and so forth) of the pushing plate62 and a cover 61 d for shielding the drive mechanism (comprising themotor 36, the gear 37 and so forth) of the first carrying unit 30.

On the front side of the pushing plate 62 are disposed a plurality ofengaging shafts 62 a to engage with the engaging cylinders 61 a of theunit body 61, and the engaging shafts 62 a are formed integrally withthe pushing plate 62 to be extensible in the back-and-forth directiontoward the unit body 61. Thus, the engaging shafts 62 a are insertedinto the engaging cylinders 61 a to be slidable in the back-and-forthdirection, and the pushing plate 62 moves in the back-and-forthdirection while being guided by the engaging cylinders 61 a. In thecentral part of the pushing plate 62 is disposed a linking shaft 62 b towhich the linking member 63 is to be linked.

Of the linking member 63, one end is turnably linked to the linkingshaft 62 b of the pushing plate 62 and the other end has a slit 63 a towhich the rotating plate 64 is to be linked.

The rotating plate 64 is turnably fitted to the unit body case 61, and agear 64 a is provided integrally with the rotation shaft of the plate. Alinking portion 64 b to be linked to the linking member 63 protrudes ina position off the center of rotation of the rotating plate 64, and thislinking portion 64 b is inserted into the slit 63 a of the linkingmember 63. In this arrangement, the slit 63 a is so bored as to extendin the turning direction of the rotating plate 64, and the linkingportion 64 b can move within the slit 63 a only by a distance L.

The motor 65 is arranged in the upper part of the unit body 61, and agear 65 a is fitted to its rotation shaft.

Each of the gears 66 is turnably supported by the unit body case 61, andconsists of a known gear configuration in which toothed wheels, largeand small, are coaxially formed. In this configuration, the gears 66,the gear 64 a of the rotating plate 64 and the gear 65 a of the motor 65consist of spur gears, and can be turned by any of the turning forcesinputted from the motor 65 side and the rotating plate 64 side.

The detector 67, disposed within the body case 10, detects a detectionobject 62 c provided at the tip of a prescribed one of the engagingshafts 62 a of the pushing plate 62 when the pushing plate 62 is in astandby position. In this arrangement, the detector 67 is so configuredas to detect the detection object 62 c without contacting it with, forinstance, an optical sensor.

The paper money accommodating unit 70 consists of a box-shaped unit body71 whose front, back and top faces are open, a unit cover 72 shieldingthe back face of the unit body 71, a paper money holding plate 73disposed within the unit body 71 to be shiftable in the back-and-forthdirection, a spring 74 for pushing the paper money holding plate 73toward the front face of the unit body 71, an openable cover 75 foropening and closing an opening in the top face of the unit body 71, alocking member 76 for locking the openable cover 75 in a closed stateand the paper money accommodating unit 70 fitted to the body case 10,and a paper money engaging plate 77 to be engaged with the upper end ofpaper money in the unit body 71.

On the front face side of the unit body 71 are disposed a plurality ofengaging portions 71 a to engage the engaging pieces 61 b of the pushingunit 60 in two positions, upper and lower, at the both ends in thewidthwise direction, and each of the engaging portions 71 a is formed ina plate shape extending in the widthwise direction. At the upper end ofthe front face side of the unit body 71 on each flank in the widthwisedirection is provided with a projection 71 b to engage with the openablecover 75, and each of the projections 71 b is shaped in a hemisphereprotruding toward the outside of the unit body 71. In the inner flanksof the unit body 71, grooves 71 c are cut to engage the paper moneyholding plate 73 to be shiftable in the back-and-forth direction.

The unit cover 72 has a plurality of engaging portions 72 a to engagewith a plurality of projections 71 d disposed on the two sides of theunit body 71, and is fitted to the unit body 71 by the engagement of theengaging portions 72 a and the projections 71 d. At the upper end of theboth ends of the unit cover 72 in the widthwise direction are providedwith linking portions 72 b to link the openable cover 75 turnably, andthese linking portions 72 b are so formed as to protrude outside theunit cover 72.

The paper money holding plate 73 is formed in a plate shape slightlysmaller than the inner dimensions of the unit body 71, and is soarranged as to match the pushing plate 62 of the pushing unit 60. At theboth ends of the paper money holding plate 73 in the widthwise directionare disposed exsert portions 73 a to engage with the grooves 71 c of theunit body 71, and the paper money holding plate 73 move in theback-and-forth direction while being guided by the grooves 71 c.

The spring 74, simplified in illustration, is a coil spring, andintervenes between the paper money holding plate 73 and the unit cover72 in a compressed state. In this configuration, the spring 74 is soformed as to gradually increase in winding diameter from the unit cover72 toward the paper money holding plate 73.

The openable cover 75 is so formed as to shield the upper end side ofthe unit body 71 and the unit cover 72, and toward the rear end of itstwo flanks in the widthwise direction are bored holes 75 a with whichthe linking portions 72 b of the unit cover 72 are to turnably engage.At the front end of the two flanks of the openable cover 75 in thewidthwise direction are bored holes 75 b with which the projections 71 bof the unit body 71 are to engage.

The locking member 76 has toward the front end of its two flanks in thewidthwise direction engaging portions 76 a which protrude forward. Theengaging portions 76 a protrude outside the openable cover 75 through apair of holes 75 c in the widthwise direction, bored in the front faceof the openable cover 75. Toward the rear end of the locking member 76is disposed an elastically deformable annular movable portion 76 b whichis elastically deformable in the back-and-forth direction and, byengaging the rear end of the movable portion 76 b with an engagingportion 75 d provided on the inner face of the openable cover 75, thelocking member 76 is fitted inside the openable cover 75. Between theengaging portions 76 a is disposed an arciform manipulative portion 76c. When the manipulative portion 76 c is manipulated to be pushedbackward, the movable portion 76 b is elastically deformed to shift theengaging portions 76 a backward. In this arrangement, the manipulativeportion 76 c can be manipulated from outside through a semicircular hole75 e bored in the inner face of the openable cover 75.

The paper money engaging plate 77, whose bottom face is formed in aplane slightly smaller than the inner dimensions of the openable cover75, is fitted to the openable cover 75 by engaging projections 77 adisposed toward the upper end of its two flanks in the widthwisedirection with holes 75 f bored in the two flanks of the openable cover75 from inside the openable cover 75.

The first detecting member 80, consisting of a plate-shaped memberextending in the back-and-forth direction, is arranged on the openablecover 75 of the paper money accommodating unit 70. The front end of thefirst detecting member 80 protrudes outside the openable cover 75through a hole 75 g bored in the front face of the openable cover 75,and its end face is so formed as to look down obliquely. Toward the rearend of the first detecting member 80 is disposed an annular movableportion 80 a elastically deformable in the back-and-forth direction, andthe first detecting member 80 is fitted inside the openable cover 75 byengaging the rear end of the movable portion 80 a with an engagingportion 75 h provided on the inner face of the openable cover 75.Further the portion of the first detecting member 80, extensible in theback-and-forth direction, is engaged with a groove 75 i in the openablecover 75, and at its bottom end is engaged with an engaging pawl 75 j ofthe openable cover 75. The first detecting member 80 further has anengaging portion 80 b for engaging the paper money holding plate 73. Theengaging portion 80 b extends downward from the rear end of the firstdetecting member 80 so as to engage with the paper money holding plate73 having shifted toward the rear part within the paper moneyaccommodating unit 70. Thus, when the paper money holding plate 73engages with the engaging portion 80 b of the first detecting member 80and the engaging portion 80 b is pushed backward by the paper moneyholding plate 73, the movable portion 80 a is elastically deformed tocause the first detecting member 80 to shift backward.

The second detecting member 90, consisting of a plate-shapedmemberextensible in the back-and-forth direction, is disposed in the unit body61 of the pushing unit 60. The rear end of the second detecting member90 protrudes outside the pushing unit 60 through a hole 61 e bored inthe back face of the unit body 61, and its end face is so formed as tolook up obliquely. The second detecting member 90 has a spindle 90 aextending in the widthwise direction, and is turnably fitted to the unitbody 61 via the spindle 90 a. In this configuration, the spindle 90 a ispositioned toward the rear end of the second detecting member 90, andthe second detecting member 90 so turns that its front end part falls byits own weight. Further, a detector 91 for detecting the position of thesecond detecting member 90 is disposed within the body case 10. Thedetector 91 detects a detection object 90 b provided at the front end ofthe second detecting member 90 when the front end part of the seconddetecting member 90 is in a downward position. In this arrangement, thedetector 91 is so configured as to detect the detection object 90 bwithout contacting it by using, for instance, an optical sensor.

In the paper money discriminating device configured as described above,when paper money is put into the paper money inlet 20 a of the inletcover 20, the motor 36 of the first carrying unit 30 is actuated, andthe guide rollers 32 and 42 of the first and second carrying units 30and 40, respectively, and the belts 33 carry the paper money to betweenthe pushing unit 60 and the paper money accommodating unit 70. In thisprocess, the passage of the carried paper money between the lightemitting elements 51 and the light receiving elements 52 of thediscriminating unit 50 causes the discriminating unit 50 to determinewhether or not the paper money is genuine or false and its face value.When paper money is carried between the pushing unit 60 and the papermoney accommodating unit 70, the motor 65 of the pushing unit 60 isactuated, and the pushing plate 62 shifts toward the paper moneyaccommodating unit 70. This causes the paper money to be pushed by thepushing plate 62 toward the paper money accommodating unit 70 and to bebrought into the paper money accommodating unit 70. In this process, thepushing plate 62 shifts the paper money holding plate 73, together withthe paper money, backward against the spring 74 and, when the pushingplate 62 returns to its standby position, the paper money holding plate73, together with the paper money, is also returned forward by thespring 74.

In pushing the paper money with the pushing plate 62, when the motor 65of the pushing unit 60 turns, its turning force is transmitted to therotating plate 64 via the gears 66, and the rotating plate 64 is turnedin the prescribed direction. This causes the rotation of the rotatingplate 64 to be converted by the linking member 63 into the reciprocationof the pushing plate 62 as shown in FIG. 14A and FIG. 14B. In thisprocess, each of the engaging shafts 62 a of the pushing plate 62 slidesback and forth within each of the engaging cylinders 61 a of the unitbody case 61 to cause the pushing plate 62, guided by the engagingcylinders 61 a, to shift back and forth while holding the state of beingparallel to the paper money holding plate 73. When the pushing plate 62returns to its standby position, the detection object 62 c of thepushing plate 62 is detected by the detector 67, and the motor 65 stops.

In the paper money discriminating device described above, upon fittingof the paper money accommodating unit 70 to the body case 10, theopenable cover 75 is closed and, when no more paper money A is withinthe paper money accommodating unit 70 than its prescribed paper moneycapacity, the front end of the first detecting member 80 comes intocontact with the rear end of the second detecting member 90, causing thedetection object 90 b of the second detecting member 90 to be held in anelevated state. This makes it impossible for the detection object 90 bto be detected by the detector 91, and this state is judged to be anoperable state for the paper money discriminating device. Hereupon, ifthe paper money accommodating unit 70 is removed from the body case 10,the openable cover 75 is opened or paper money 100 in the paper moneyaccommodating unit 70 surpasses its prescribed paper money capacity (theunit 70 is filled), and the first detecting member 80 is shiftedbackward by the paper money holding plate 73, the second detectingmember 90 and the first detecting member 80 will be released fromcontact with each other in any of these cases, with the result that theturning of the second detecting member 90 shifts the detection object 90b downward to enable the detection object 90 b to be detected by thedetector 91. This causes the paper money discriminating device to bejudged to be in an inoperable state.

In this way, according to the paper money discriminating device, whichis the preferred embodiment of the invention, the detector 91, one ofthe detectors, can detect the action of the second detecting member 90turned by the contact of the first detecting member 80, any of thestates in which the paper money accommodating unit 70 is removed fromthe body case 10, the openable cover 75 is opened or paper money 100 inthe paper money accommodating unit 70 surpasses its prescribed papermoney capacity. Accordingly, the number of constituent elements can besubstantially reduced compared with a device using a plurality ofdetectors, with the result that the device can be simplified instructure and manufactured less expensively and therefore can contributeto cost reduction and productivity improvement.

To add, although in this embodiment, the single detector 91 can detectany of the states in which the paper money accommodating unit 70 istaken off, the openable cover 75 is opened or paper money A is beyondthe prescribed capacity of the accommodating unit 70, it is alsopossible to have the detector 91 only the removal of the paper moneyaccommodating unit 70 or the open state of the openable cover 75, oronly the removal of the paper money accommodating unit 70 or thepresence of paper money A beyond the prescribed capacity of theaccommodating unit 70.

Further in the paper money discriminating device, when the openablecover 75 is closed, the engaging portions 76 a of the locking member 76are engaged with the under face of the top face of the body case 10, andthe openable cover 75 is locked. When the openable cover 75 is to beopened, by manipulating the manipulative portion 76 c of the lockingmember 76 to be pushed backward, the engaging portions 76 a are shiftedtoward the openable cover 75 to come off the top wall of the body case10 and to unlock the openable cover 75.

When the paper money accommodating unit 70 is to be fitted to the bodycase 10, by engaging from above the engaging portions 71 a of the papermoney accommodating unit 70 with the engaging pieces 61 b of the pushingunit 60, the paper money accommodating unit 70 is caused to be held onthe body case 10 side. In this process, the engaging portions 76 a ofthe locking member 76 of the closed openable cover 75 engage with thetop face wall of the body case 10 from underneath, thereby to restrainthe upward shift of the paper money accommodating unit 70 and to lockthe paper money accommodating unit 70. When the paper moneyaccommodating unit 70 is to be removed from the body case 10 side, bypushing backward the manipulative portion 76 c of the locking member 76,the engaging portions 76 a are shifted toward the openable cover 75 tolet the unit 70 come off the top face wall of the body case 10 asdescribed above, the paper money accommodating unit 70 is unlocked. Bypulling upward the paper money accommodating unit 70 in this state, thepaper money accommodating unit 70 is taken off the body case 10.

As described above, by engaging the engaging portions 76 a of thelocking member 76 with the under face of the top face wall of the bodycase 10, both the openable cover 75 and the paper money accommodatingunit 70 can be locked with the single locking member 76. Accordingly,the number of constituent elements can be substantially reduced comparedwith a device in which the openable cover 75 and the paper moneyaccommodating unit 70 are locked by a plurality of locking mechanisms,with further advantages in cost reduction and productivity improvement.Furthermore, as the locking member 76 can securely lock both theopenable cover 75 and the paper money accommodating unit 70, thisarrangement can effectively contribute to the protection of paper moneyfrom theft.

In a state in which the paper money accommodating unit 70 is taken off,the openable cover 75 is also released from locking by the lockingmember 76, but where the openable cover 75 is closed, the projections 71b of the unit body 71 engage with the holes 75 b of the openable cover75, and the engagement between the projections 71 b and the holes 75 bholds the openable cover 75 in its closed state. At this time, if aforce of or greater than a prescribed magnitude is applied in theopening direction of the openable cover 75, the projections 71 b and theholes 75 b will be disengaged from each other.

Therefore, even in a state in which the paper money accommodating unit70 is taken off, as the openable cover 75 can be held in its closedstate, there is an advantage that the openable cover 75 cannot beaccidentally opened. Incidentally, while the openable cover 75 is heldby mutual engagement of the projections 71 b and the holes 75 b in thisembodiment, the openable cover 75 can as well be held by usingattracting members such as magnets.

Further, as the openable cover 75 is provided with the paper moneyengaging plate 77 which can be engaged with the upper end of papermoney, the sheets of paper money are prevented from becoming misalignedin the vertical direction, but can be accommodated neatly within thepaper money accommodating unit 70.

In addition, in the paper money discriminating device, which is thepreferred embodiment of the invention, the pushing plate 62 integratedwith the plurality of engaging shafts 62 a are engaged to be slidable inthe back-and-forth direction with the engaging cylinders 61 a integratedwith the unit body case 61, the sliding mechanism of the pushing plate62 can be configured solely of the engaging shafts 62 a and the engagingcylinders 61 a. Accordingly, the number of constituent elements can besubstantially reduced compared with a device in which a sliding memberor a pantagraph mechanism is used as a separate component.

In this configuration, by linking one end of the linking member 63 tothe pushing plate 62 and the other end of the linking member 63 to therotating plate 64 in a position off the center of rotation, the pushingplate 62 is enabled to reciprocate by the rotary motion of the rotatingplate 64. Therefore, the driving force of the rotating plate 64 can beefficiently transmitted to the pushing plate 62, and the pushing plate62 can be operated satisfactorily all the time.

In the above-described paper money discriminating device, when thepushing plate 62 returns to its standby position, the detection object62 c of the pushing plate 62 is detected by the detector 67, and themotor 65 is stopped then. Accordingly, it is made possible to securelystop the pushing plate 62 in its prescribed standby position, and theoperation of the pushing plate 62 can be properly controlled all thetime.

In this process, as shown in FIG. 14C, as the linking portion 64 b ofthe linking member 63 can shift within the slit 63 a of the rotatingplate 64 only by the distance L, even if the linking portion 64 b issomewhat off its due position when the motor 65 has stopped, the pushingplate 62 always stops in the prescribed position in the back-and-forthdirection. Thus, as the slit 63 a extends in the turning direction ofthe rotating plate 64, the distance to the linking shaft 62 b remainsunchanged even if the linking portion 64 b shifts if its within thedistance L, and the pushing plate 62 is not shifted in theback-and-forth direction. Therefore, the pushing plate 62 can be stoppedalways in the accurate position, and defective carriage of paper moneydue to any positional deviation of the pushing plate 62 can be preventedwithout fail.

Further, the use of spur gears as the gears 64 a, 65 a and 66 hasresulted in a configuration in which these gears can be turned by aturning force inputted from any side, whether it is from the motor 65 orfrom the rotating plate 64. Therefore, even if the motor 65 cannot workon account of the absence of power supply or failure of the motor 65itself, the pushing plate 62 can be manually shifted, which is asignificant advantage in maintenance or repair work.

Also in the above-described paper money discriminating device, thedetectors 67 and 91 are so configured as to be able to detect thedetection objects 62 c and 90 b without containing it, the device isless subject to troubles due to damages or the like than contact typeswitches, which means further enhancement of durability and reliability.

1-7. (canceled)
 8. A paper money discriminating device comprising adiscriminating unit for discriminating paper money put in through apaper money inlet, a carrying mechanism for carrying discriminated papermoney to a prescribed position within a discriminating device body, apushing mechanism for pushing paper money carried to the prescribedposition in a prescribed direction, and a paper money accommodating unitfor accepting the paper money pressed by the pushing mechanism, wherein:said pushing mechanism comprises a pushing plate for pushing papermoney, a drive mechanism for shifting the pushing plate in the directionof pushing paper money, one engaging portion disposed on the pushingplate, and another engaging portion disposed on the discriminatingdevice body side, the engaging portions being engaged with each other tobe shiftable in the direction of pushing paper money.
 9. The paper moneydiscriminating device according to claim 8, further provided with: adetector for detecting the presence of said pushing plate in aprescribed standby position.
 10. The paper money discriminating deviceaccording to claim 9, wherein: said detector is configured to be able todetect the object of detection without contacting it.
 11. The papermoney discriminating device according to claim 8, wherein: said drivemechanism comprises a linking member of which one end is turnably linkedto a pushing plate, a rotating member to which the other end of thelinking member is turnably linked to a prescribed position off thecenter of rotation, a motor for turning the rotating member, and a drivetransmission mechanism for transmitting the turning force of the motorto the rotating member.
 12. The paper money discriminating deviceaccording to claim 11, wherein: the other end of the linking member islinked to said rotating member to be shiftable in the turning directionof the rotating member only by a prescribed distance.
 13. The papermoney discriminating device according to claim 11, wherein: said drivetransmission mechanism comprises a plurality of gears which can beturned by a turning force from any side, whether from the motor side orfrom the rotating member side.